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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the parody genre approach that Zucker, together with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, began creating spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it looks easy, clearly. Others began imitating it, like the new film's producer for the new Naked Gun. He completely misunderstood it."

He added: "It might appear that we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

The Irreplaceable Star

The director further stated that it was pointless to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, remarking: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that."

Previous Reservations and Shifting Tone

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not excited about having the series handed over to other people". He continued: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to do a good job with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it is challenging."

However, after a string of positive reviews and impressive financial performance following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in cinemas, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate our style."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."